The Top 26 Restaurants Near Four Seasons Santa Barbara
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Rank 1. Bouchon
Wine Country French
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Rank 2. Sama Sama Kitchen
Southeast Asian Vietnamese
Sama Sama Kitchen is a casual Southeast Asian spot in downtown Santa Barbara where the food punches well above its price point, which is exactly how it earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand. The team behind it is an unlikely duo, a Nashville barbecue guy and an Indonesian chef, and somehow that combination produces a menu that just works. Grab a seat on the string-lit back patio if you can. Happy hour deals make it even easier to order too much.
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Rank 3. Corazon Cocina
Mexican
A taco stand inside the Santa Barbara Public Market with a Michelin Bib Gourmand, which tells you everything you need to know about not judging by square footage. The handmade tortillas are the real foundation here, built on family recipes from Guadalajara and upgraded with clever local produce. The crowd is a cheerful mix of market browsers and regulars who came for lunch and quietly ordered a second round.
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Rank 4. Bibi Ji
Indian
Bibi Ji is a small, lively Indian spot on State Street that makes sharing food feel like the whole point of going out. The menu leans inventive and bold, the kind of cooking that holds its own against the natural wine list curated by a genuinely serious sommelier. The patio is the move in summer. The crowd skews stylish and curious, not the chicken tikka masala crowd.
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Rank 5. Yoichi's
Traditional Japanese
A proper kaiseki tasting menu tucked inside a little house in Santa Barbara, run by a husband-and-wife team whose cooking background includes Nobu Tokyo, which tells you everything you need to know. The room is quiet, pale, and calm, the kind of place where people speak in low voices and mean it. Seven courses of seasonal Japanese cooking, serious fish, and the sort of care that makes you slow down without anyone asking you to.
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Rank 6. Loquita
Spanish
A Bib Gourmand Spanish tapas spot a few blocks from the beach, Loquita has the colorful tiles, pink bar stools, and gin and tonic list to match the Santa Barbara sunshine outside. Sit at the wood counter or grab the patio and let the servers guide you through the menu, because they genuinely know it cold. The crowd looks like they've just come from the water and aren't quite ready to go home, which is exactly the right energy.
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Rank 7. Barbareño
Californian New American
Smoke drifting off the kitchen is basically Barbareño's calling card, and it works. This is a laid-back California spot, the kind where the menu reads as playful but the kitchen clearly knows what it's doing. The covered patio fills up with wine-country weekenders and locals who look like they bike to the farmers market. Small plates and bold flavors, with just enough whimsy to keep things interesting without trying too hard.
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Rank 8. The Lark
Seasonal New American
Seasonal New American in Santa Barbara's Funk Zone arts district, set in a former fish market with the kind of vintage lighting that makes everyone look good. The crowd leans young and effortlessly cool, sharing big plates the way the kitchen intends. Everything leans on Central Coast ingredients, and the wine list is basically a love letter to local Santa Barbara producers. Dress like you know the neighborhood.
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Rank 9. Los Agaves
Mexican
Casual counter-service Mexican on the east side of Santa Barbara, and it's earned a Michelin nod without losing its neighborhood soul. You order up front, grab a number, and help yourself to salsa and drinks, which means the room is full of families and locals who know the drill. The portions are generous enough that you'll probably regret that second taco, but that's a tomorrow problem. The costra taco al pastor is a genuinely good reason to show up.
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Rank 10. Blackbird
Mediterranean
Blackbird is a moody, good-looking fine dining room inside Hotel Californian, doing Mediterranean-leaning coastal cooking with enough creativity to justify the bill. The bar runs the whole length of the space, the cocktails are worth your time, and the kitchen keeps the Pacific front and center in everything it sends out. Think date-night couples and hotel guests who dressed up a little more than they planned to.
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Rank 11. Caruso’s
Californian Italian
Sitting inside the Rosewood Miramar Beach with the Pacific literally out the window, Caruso's earns its Michelin star the hard way: a prix-fixe built almost entirely on what's growing or swimming nearby. Leather booths, linen tablecloths, people in resort-nice clothes who are trying to look casual about the bill. The chef pulls Santa Barbara seafood and garden produce into something genuinely Italian, and it shows.
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Five Star
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Wine Enthusiast 2024 · Forward 50 Restaurants
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Rank 12. The Manor Bar
Californian
- The Pinnacle Guide 2 Pins
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Hotel Bar
- Industry Excellence Awards Best Cocktail Program
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Rank 13. The Stonehouse
Rustic New American
Fine dining inside a stone cottage on the grounds of San Ysidro Ranch, where the herbs on your plate were probably growing outside an hour ago. The room has rough beams, a wood-burning fireplace, and the kind of quiet confidence that comes with serious money at the table. Regulars claim the patio and keep it casual with the burger; first-timers tend to go all-in on the prix-fixe. The wine list is genuinely worth your attention.
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Rank 15. Little Mountain
New American
Little Mountain is a polished New American spot in Montecito where the kitchen pulls from local farms and fishermen but cooks with a global sensibility, so nothing on the menu tastes quite like you expected. The room has tall white walls, brick floors, and wood beams, which means date-nighters show up looking their best and feel rewarded for it. Reserve a table or take your chances at the bar.
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Rank 16. Olivella
Californian Italian
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Rank 18. The Dutchess
Burmese
Ojai's most unexpected double life: a laid-back bakery and cafe by day that transforms into a Burmese dinner spot once the sun goes down. The crowd skews creative and local, the kind of people who know what tea leaf salad is and order it anyway. Everything's meant for sharing, the curries and snacks are genuinely good, and the desserts somehow steal the whole show. Weird in the best way.
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Rank 19. Rory's Place
New American
Rory's Place is the kind of casual New American spot that makes Ojai feel even more charmed than it already does. The menu leans on local produce and a solid raw bar, with a natural wine list and a provisions counter up front for good measure. Wood floors keep it warm, exposed ducts keep it from feeling precious, and the crowd looks exactly like people who moved to Ojai on purpose and never left.
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Rank 20. Peasants Feast
American
Solvang is already aggressively cute, and somehow this little daytime café leans further into it without tipping over into precious. Peasants Feast holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and earns it with a sandwich menu that takes farm-fresh ingredients seriously without making you feel like you're at a lecture. The crowd is mostly wine-trail people refueling between tastings. Grab a sandwich, add a cup of soup, and raid the deli across the street if you're picnic-bound.
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- Sunset 2025 · Markets and Bakeries · Where to Eat and Drink
- Sunset 2024 · Markets and Bakeries · Where to Eat and Drink
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Rank 22. The Tavern
Californian New American
This wine country restaurant has been around forever, first as a stagecoach stop, then a Prohibition hangout, and now a polished Auberge property that somehow pulls off "historic" and "genuinely modern" at the same time. The kitchen leans into live fire and a garden out back, turning seasonal California ingredients into shared plates worth lingering over. Think couples celebrating something, and locals who treat it like their living room.
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Rank 23. Na Na Thai
Thai
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Rank 24. Industrial Eats
Modern New American
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Rank 25. Bell's
French
A Michelin-starred French bistro that feels nothing like one, Bell's pulls off the rare trick of being genuinely unpretentious while cooking at a high level. Nearly everything on the plate comes from within a short drive, and you can taste it. The room fills with locals and wine-country weekenders who know a good thing when they find it. Three courses, a handful of choices each, and somehow that's all you need.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Daisy Ryan
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 26. Priedite Barbecue
Californian